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Chalice - Robin McKinley
Nov. 6th, 2024 12:38 amThis may be the first Robin McKinley book I've actually Vibed with. I've read most of her big ones (Sunshine, Deerskin, the dragon one) and just somehow couldn't really get on board with any of them, but then I really loved this one! Maybe it's just that it hit at the right time, maybe it's an argument for trying an author more than once even if they miss more than they hit .... WHO KNOWS.
This book is set in a world where the inhabitants of a place are spiritually and magically tied to it. Mirasol is the Chalice, one of a Circle of individuals who maintain the health of the land for the good of everyone who lives there. Unfortunately, Mirasol was chosen to be the Chalice following on the heels of several years of brutal mismanagement under the previous Circle, including the violent deaths of the previous Chalice and Master (the head of the Circle) shortly before Mirasol was - against her will, through the land's magic - selected to follow in the footsteps of her predecessor. She inherits a land in disarray, a dysfunctional Circle, and an equally new Master who is not even human: the previous Master's brother was sent away years ago to become a fire priest, and when the land calls him back, he returns as an inhuman something that can barely interact with people without hurting them. In fact, in his first encounter with Mirasol, at the ceremony to welcome the Master to his new land, he accidentally burns her badly.
Also, before she was the Chalice, Mirasol was a beekeeper, and her devotional liquid is honey. (Chalices typically deal in water, sometimes wine or milk, but honey is completely unknown; it means she has about 10,000 magical bees following her around constantly.)
So all of this is going GREAT, even before it turns out that the general situation is being manipulated by political forces to try to run Mirasol and the rest of her shattered Circle off their land so it can be claimed by outsiders.
I enjoyed this hugely. It's lovely and magical, and most of the characters are just basically decent people trying to do their best. (Aside from the ones who are terrible in very human ways.) Also: lots of detail about beekeeping, and horses that are believable horses with their own individual qualities, and an unexpectedly likable sort-of-antagonist who I really enjoyed.
This book is set in a world where the inhabitants of a place are spiritually and magically tied to it. Mirasol is the Chalice, one of a Circle of individuals who maintain the health of the land for the good of everyone who lives there. Unfortunately, Mirasol was chosen to be the Chalice following on the heels of several years of brutal mismanagement under the previous Circle, including the violent deaths of the previous Chalice and Master (the head of the Circle) shortly before Mirasol was - against her will, through the land's magic - selected to follow in the footsteps of her predecessor. She inherits a land in disarray, a dysfunctional Circle, and an equally new Master who is not even human: the previous Master's brother was sent away years ago to become a fire priest, and when the land calls him back, he returns as an inhuman something that can barely interact with people without hurting them. In fact, in his first encounter with Mirasol, at the ceremony to welcome the Master to his new land, he accidentally burns her badly.
Also, before she was the Chalice, Mirasol was a beekeeper, and her devotional liquid is honey. (Chalices typically deal in water, sometimes wine or milk, but honey is completely unknown; it means she has about 10,000 magical bees following her around constantly.)
So all of this is going GREAT, even before it turns out that the general situation is being manipulated by political forces to try to run Mirasol and the rest of her shattered Circle off their land so it can be claimed by outsiders.
I enjoyed this hugely. It's lovely and magical, and most of the characters are just basically decent people trying to do their best. (Aside from the ones who are terrible in very human ways.) Also: lots of detail about beekeeping, and horses that are believable horses with their own individual qualities, and an unexpectedly likable sort-of-antagonist who I really enjoyed.